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Home , Desolation Wilderness, Klamath National Forest, Trinity Alps

BACKCOUNTRY TRAILS PROGRAM STAFF

Karlson Lewis Hubbard – Program Director

Karlson Hubbard got his first introduction to the CCC in 1998 as an AmeriCorps V.I.S.T.A. with the San Diego CCC Center. In 2000, he was a member on the Klamath/Trinity Backcountry Crew. It was during this backcountry season he began to sharpen his love for trails and for community like a double-bit axe before a 20 mile log out run. Soon after Karlson continued to work trails and work with the CCC/AmeriCorps Backcountry Trails Program as a sponsor for three years, representing the Weaverville Ranger District of the Shasta-. In 2003 Karlson left the mainland, figuratively and literally, and went to islands of Samoa to build trails. Finally, in 2005 Karlson tried what would later turn out to be the first of ultimately five tries to have the perfect backcountry trails season. Karlson spent the 2005, 2006, and 2008 BC seasons in the , and the 2007 in the , and lastly the 2009 season in Yosemite NP. In 2010 and 2011, Karlson served as the Relief Supervisor/Program Recruiter before becoming the new Program Director in 2012.

Adam Zamastil – Program Coordinator Born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Adam’s desire to get out of the city and into the wilderness began as a youngster. This eventually drove him to the southern shore of Lake Superior and to Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin where he graduated with a degree in Education. After a short stint teaching in the local high school and needing to feed the burning desire for adventure, Adam packed his bags and joined the Backcountry Trails Program and embarked upon a journey that would last over a decade living and building trails in the wilderness of Kings Canyon National Park. After several attempts to walk away from the trails world, in 2014 he left the and returned to the CCC, first as a Backcountry Trails Supervisor, then working at the Ukiah CCC Center and now continues to serve as the Backcountry Trails Program Coordinator.

Erin Degenstein – AmeriCorps Coordinator Erin earned a B.A.S. from The Evergreen State College where she focused on environmental studies, botany and art. Inspired by the strange and intricate natural world, she served in three different corps programs: the Washington Conservation Corps, CCC Watershed Stewards Program, and Conservation Corps. She was privileged to be on the CCC 2007 Kings Canyon Backcountry Trails crew under the leadership of Kiva Vigil. She fell in love with the Sierra Nevada, and worked 4 seasons in Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks, leading invasive plant crews. She has worked trails for CA State Parks and led a Student Conservation Association trail crew in Olympic National Park, and has served 11 years as a Marine Science Technician with US Coast Guard Reserve. Erin left the mountains to go back to school, earning an M.S. in Natural Resources, as well as certificates in GIS and Faculty Preparation from Humboldt State University. She has spent the last few years tutoring and teaching at HSU and working as evening staff at the CCC Fortuna Center. Erin looks forward to using her skills and experience to continue to support young adults in the rewarding work of national service and environmental stewardship.

Shawn McGrath – Klamath Backcountry Crew Supervisor Shawn was born and raised just outside of Boston, Massachusetts. He spent his early twenties providing care for elders and people with disabilities, with a focus on Alzheimer’s. After several

CALIFORNIA CONSERVATION CORPS 1719 24TH ST., SACRAMENTO, CA 95815 WWW.CCC.CA.GOV years, he was struck with the need to do something completely different. His desire to get outside, to challenge himself physically, and to be around people his own age led to his accepting a position as a corpsmember with the 2010 CCC Shasta-Trinity Backcountry Trail Crew. After that season, he was hooked. Shawn spent two years as a crew leader with the Texas Conservation Corps on their Trails Across Texas and emergency response crews. He then returned to California to work for the U.S. Forest Service, sponsoring the Klamath crews in 2013 and 2014. Shawn supervised Backcountry crews in the Klamath National Forest in 2015 and 2016, and looks forward to returning this year for a third season in the Klamath.

Dan Ramirez – Backcountry Crew Supervisor Dan discovered the Backcountry Trails Program in 2006 when he was working for the trail crew of Big Basin State Park. For the following 6 seasons Dan worked as a sponsor with CCC Backcountry Crews where he learned about the program and witnessed the struggles and accomplishments that Corps Members would face during a season. Over these years Dan’s passion for the BCTP grew and knew that inevitably he would one day serve with the program. In 2012 and 2013 Dan lead a Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) Crew in Yellowstone National Park as well as supervising a crew for the Kern Service and Conservation Corps (KSACC) in southern California which is a partnership program with the Farmworkers Institute of Education and Leadership Development (FIELD). In 2014 Dan faced his inevitability and became a Backcountry Trails Supervisor and led his crew into where he was bit by the backcountry bug. Dan has continued to Supervise Backcountry Crews in 2015 and 2016 and returns for his fourth season in 2017.

Chelsea Saeland – Yosemite I Backcountry Crew Supervisor Chelsea got her start with California Conservation Corps as a Corpsmember at the Fortuna CCC Center in 2010. In 2011 Chelsea served with the Backcountry Trails Program on the Kings Canyon Crew where she had what she describes as an “amazing life changing experience.” In 2012 Chelsea had a unique opportunity to be a team leader for three Backcountry Crews working the trails of San Jacinto State Park in southern California. She then went on to work as an intern at an outdoor school for the Tulare County Office of Education teaching 6th grade students about the environment. In 2014 Chelsea felt the CCC and the redwood forests of the coast calling and she returned to work with the CCC at the Fortuna Center as a Crew Supervisor. Chelsea is excited to serve with the Backcountry Program again and give back to the program that has done so much for so many including herself personally.

LB Gunter – Kings Canyon Backcountry Crew Supervisor LB grew up in Arkansas, moving to St. Louis to study at Saint Louis University where she was employed in the research field at Washington University’s School of Medicine, Pediatrics Department. After four years of her head in the books and three in the lab, she was ready for a big change. She soon found the Backcountry Trails Program, completing a corpsmember season in Kings Canyon National Park in 2010. LB fell in love with wilderness, developed a passion for trails, wilderness exposure and access and wilderness medicine. She continued trail work and working with CCC Backcountry crews in the Shasta-Trinity and Inyo National Forests the next year, returning to Kings Canyon as an NPS employee in 2012 and 2013. She moved ranges to serve as a crew leader for Rocky Mountain Youth Corps in 2015, building projects in central and northern Colorado. She returned last season as a backcountry supervisor for the

CALIFORNIA CONSERVATION CORPS 2 WWW.CCC.CA.GOV CCC Stanislaus crew, and is excited to be going back to Kings Canyon this season- the place this journey began and a place she considers home.

Jesus Ruiz – Shasta Trinity Alps Backcountry Crew Supervisor Jesus learned of the CCC in 2010 from a friend and signed up serving at the Pomona CCC Center in southern California. It was there that Jesus discovered the Backcountry Trails Program and served on the 2012 Shasta Trinity Crew. In 2013 Jesus had the unique opportunity to serve as a Packer Apprentice through the BCTP and the Klamath National Forest where he learned the art of packing horses and mules and also worked for California State Parks sponsoring CCC Crews. In 2014 Jesus was hired by the CCC as a permanent full time Crew Supervisor at the Ukiah CCC Center. Throughout his time working in partnership with and directly for the CCC Jesus has been inspired by mentors and developed a deep love for trail work and the outdoors. During his 2012 Backcountry Trails season Jesus realized that he wanted to one day supervise a Backcountry Crew and over the recent years that desire has continued to grow. This season it is Jesus’ hope that the passion for trail work, the love for the outdoors and commitment to a strong work ethic that was instilled in him is something he can share with you.

Sophie Carrillo Mandel – Yosemite II Backcountry Crew Supervisor Sophie is proud to have been born and raised among the scrub oak and creek beds of the rural central Sierra Nevada foothills. Since her 2011 corpsmember season on the Sequoia-Vets Crew (the roving crew of 9 military veterans and 7 non-vets worked Big Basin State Park, Shasta-Trinity National Forest, , and ), Sophie has worked four trails seasons at Kings Canyon National Park, one at Glacier National Park, and had the fortune to do a month-long detail in Chiricahua National Monument. She is humbled and honored to be given the opportunity to lead a crew for the BCTP, to give back to the program that introduced her to the work and lifestyle that has challenged her, fulfilled her, and changed her life for the better. Off the trail, Sophie has traveled to 17 countries, earned a BA in Language Studies from UC Santa Cruz, and is pursuing training in the field of public engagement, public policy, and conflict resolution. She has spent winters working at her family's reclaimed lumber yard and sawmill, substitute teaching, and fitting footwear at REI.

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